


The Amedot Saga

by Mr_Westing



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:56:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7358443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Westing/pseuds/Mr_Westing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of stories focusing on the development of Amethyst and Peridot's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Too Far in the Other Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot accidentally insults Amethyst... again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These three chapters were conceived and written before the 'Summer of Steven' block of episodes (except for 'Steven Floats'). They are thus intended to be compliant with the canon up to that point, but will no doubt diverge greatly from the episodes following.

Peridot dribbled the basketball across the car wash’s entryway, which had been transformed into a makeshift court. She was heading towards the opposing team’s goal—a paper bag with the bottom punched out taped onto a pole—when Steven blocked her.

“Ooh, whatcha gonna do?” Steven taunted.

“I’m open! I’m open!” yelled Amethyst from behind him. Peridot tossed the ball to her, where she proceeded to dunk it through the hoop.

“Yes!” Peridot shouted. “That was the winning point! A full ten to your pitiful zero!”

“It’s not fair!” Steven complained. “It’s two on one!”

“What are you talking about?” said Amethyst. “You’re with Lapis.”

“Yeah, but she’s not even trying!”

Indeed, Lapis was standing off on the sidelines, not making the slightest effort to score any points or even participate. “I don’t really care,” she said. A pair of wings sprouted from the gem on her back. “In fact, I’m heading back to the barn.” And she took off.

“Whatever, we still won,” said Amethyst.

“Of course we did!” said Peridot. “Because nothing can stop the mighty combination of the great and lovable Peridot and the stupendous Amethyst!”

“Heck yeah!” Amethyst said. The two gave each other a high-five.

“Man, Peri,” Amethyst said, laughing a bit. “A few months ago, when you were trying to kill us and stuff, I never would have guessed we would become so close!”

“Me neither!” said Peridot. “I mean, me, a Peridot technician, getting all chummy with such an awesome, high-ranking Gem type as an Amethyst? Totally unthinkable back on Homeworld!”

“Yeah,” said Amethyst, chuckling. But soon the full implications of Peridot’s words sunk in. “Wait… what do mean by that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Er, I mean that back on Homeworld, nobody would have thought about it,” a confused Peridot replied.

“Yeah, but is that the only reason you like me?” said Amethyst angrily. “Because I’m an Amethyst?”

“Of course not!” Peridot said hastily. “I mean, for one thing, you’re hardly the most desirable Amethyst in the first place. After all, you’re…” She stopped. “What I mean is, most Amethysts are one way, and you’re…”

“Defective?”

“Yeah!” said Peridot. “No, wait! I—I’m sure you’re just as capable as any other Amethyst!”

“Which is the only reason you like me.”

“Exactly! Wait, no—”

“Yeah, whatever. I can tell when I’m being patronized.” She began to walk away.

“Come on, Amethyst,” said Steven, catching up to her. “You know Peridot doesn’t actually mean any of that stuff.”

“Well, once she figures out what she _does_ mean, she can come and tell me.” With that, she marched off.

“Oh, come on!” Peridot groaned. “Now she’s mad at me again!”

“Amethyst can be very insecure, and she often gets moody because of that,” said Steven. “Still, it _was_ a bit easy to misinterpret your words. You should apologize once she’s calmed down a little.”

“Well, _of course_ I should apologize! The problem is, I have no idea how I should do that! What can I say that won’t make her upset again? And I can’t even use my tape recorder like before because Lapis destroyed it!” She slumped down onto the pavement. “I wish I knew how to talk to people.”

“I have a book that might help,” said Steven. “Though I suppose it’s pretty rudimentary. This situation seems more advanced.”

A honking of a horn interrupted them; Greg, in his van, had returned with the industrial-size containers of liquid soap he had purchased for his business. “Hey, buds!” he called out his window. “Clear the way so I can get through!”

Steven and Peridot made room for the van to pull in. “Hey, Dad,” Steven said as his father got out of the vehicle and started to unload. “Do you think you could give us some advice?”

“Sure,” Greg said. “What’s up?”

“Well, Peridot said some stuff that made Amethyst feel like the only reason she liked hanging out with her was because she was a quartz, and we were wondering how we could help her see that that’s not the case.”

“Oh, wow,” said Greg, absent-mindedly scratching the back of his neck. “I’m not sure if I can help with that. I mean, only liking her for her gem type… that’s not true, is it?”

“Of course not!” Peridot said angrily.

“Then just tell her that.”

“Like it’s that easy,” Peridot scoffed. “How am I supposed to convey all the complex emotions I feel about her into coherent commentary? Our shared vocabulary is not enough!”

Greg shrugged. “I don’t know, but as long you’re honest and try your best, she’s bound to at least listen.”

“I hope so.”

 

* * *

 

Steven and Peridot entered the beach house, where Amethyst and Garnet sat on the couch. Amethyst looked up.

“Hey, Amethyst,” Peridot said, giving a nervous wave.

“Hey,” said Amethyst. “So… I’ve been talking to Garnet, and she told me I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. That you’re constantly making progress, so I should give you some more leeway when it comes to your hierarchy-based thinking…”

“No, you were right to feel that way,” said Peridot. “I made it seem like I viewed you as a replaceable drone and nothing more. But that’s not true. I…” She sighed. “Look, back on Homeworld, I never got to meet any Amethysts. I never even met a Quartz before Jasper. So I have no idea what they’re like, personality-wise. The only thing I know about them is that they’re meant to be large, tall, broad-shouldered—attributes that you are not. Yet I like you _despite_ that. I like you because… you’re cool. Because you have this passion for things. You’re fun, and funny, and laid-back, but you also know when to take things seriously, and you can be sweet, and kind, and encouraging, and a thousand other things. And if all Amethysts are like that, then yes, I like you because you’re an Amethyst. But since I have no knowledge of whether that’s the norm, well, then it’s the equivalent of saying that I like you… because you’re you.”

“Really?”

“Really,” said Peridot. “Maybe my I was initially pulled towards you over the other Gems because of your type, but I’d like to think that, over the course of our being acquaintances, we’ve developed a close and special bond with each other that would have occurred whether you were an Amethyst or not.”

Amethyst grinned. Then, without warning, she grabbed Peridot and gave her a big smooch on the lips.

“Gah!” said Peridot, staggering back.

“What’s the matter?” Amethyst said teasingly. “Didn’t you like that?”

“No—I mean, it was weird, and unexpected, but… it wasn’t bad.” She looked up shyly. “Could we do it some more?”

Without hesitation, Amethyst pounced on her friend—though, it seemed, they had become a bit more than friends now.

“I’m happy for them,” said Garnet, observing. “Almost makes me want to defuse for a while.”

“Er, right,” Steven said, embarrassed. “Though, I’m, uh, going to go outside. You know, until they’re finished.”

And so, leaving the scene of the make-out session, he rushed out the door.


	2. Pearl is Obviously Jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oysters live in salt water, which may explain the saltiness of their Pearls.

"So they're really a couple now?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah!" Steven said. The two were in the beach house, talking about the recent developments between Amethyst and Peridot. "They've formed a really strong bond with each other."

"You said they got together immediately after they had a fight."

"Well, you can't expect smooth sailing right away."

"I'm still not sure how stable their relationship could be. It may be that, given a slight disagreement—perhaps a pang of jealousy—they may easily break up again."

"Gee, I hope not," Steven said. "They seem pretty happy together."

As if to illustrate this, Peridot and Amethyst entered the house, holding each other and laughing.

"Hey, guys," Amethyst announced, "have you met my new GF?" With that, she gave Peridot a quick smooch.

"I don't know what 'GF' means," said Peridot, "but it has to be something good."

"It's so cool that you two got together!" said Steven.

"Though it's rather stranger you would," said Pearl. "After all, you've only been acquainted for a relatively brief period, especially in relation to your ages. In contrast, Amethyst and I have been good friends for several hundred years! Remember that time back in the twelfth century when we explored those European caves?

"No, not really," said Amethyst.

"Okay, then how about in the eighteenth century, when we got caught up in that agriculture dispute?"

"Vaguely."

"A half century ago when those new zoning laws threatened to raze the temple?"

"Nope," said Amethyst. "Ooh! Peridot, remember when we won that basketball game against Steven yesterday?"

Peridot laughed. "Yeah, that was great."

"Basketball?" Pearl exclaimed. "Amethyst, of all the things you've experienced over the years, are you really going to focus on a sport that's barely a hundred years old?"

"Well, it's not so much the sport itself as it is who I played it with," said Amethyst, putting her arm around Peridot. "In fact, how 'bout we go make some more memories?"

"Yeah!" Peridot said. "Come on, Steven, it's time for a rematch!"

Steven shrugged and followed Peridot and Amethyst out the door, leaving a scowling Pearl behind.

 

* * *

 

"Once again, this doesn't seem very fair," said Steven, after his opponents managed to score yet another basket. Like before, it was nominally two against two, but in practice, it was two against one, with Lapis acting as more a spectator than a participant.

"You're just mad because our team's so much better than yours," gloated Peridot.

"Yeah," said Amethyst. "It's not our fault your teammate doesn't pull her weight."

Just then, they heard odd, stilted laughing. Turning to look, the three saw Pearl with her arm around an unenthused Lapis's shoulders.

"Ha ha ha!" said Pearl aloud. "Oh, we are having so much fun! We're so extremely close, aren't we, Lapis?"

"You left me in your Gem storage space for thousands of years," Lapis said bitterly.

"Well, yes," said Pearl, removing her arm, "but do you think maybe we might one day move beyond our past transgressions and become friends and perhaps even kiss in front of some of my cohorts whom I've known for a much longer time?"

"That thought would be the furthest thing from my mind."

"Right, right," said Pearl, chuckling nervously. "So… what do you guys think of this?" she asked the onlookers.

Amethyst shrugged. "I don't care. You and Lapis work this thing out on your own."

"Er…" Pearl glanced at Lapis, who was still glaring at her. "I'm… going to go now."

And so she left, leaving four onlookers in various states of confusion, befuddlement, apathy, and concern.

 

* * *

 

"Yeesh," said Amethyst. "What the heck is Pearl's deal?" She, Peridot, and Steven were back at the beach house. None of them had seen Pearl since the basketball incident.

"Yeah," said Peridot, "what compelled her to embrace Lapis of all people like that?"

"I'm not entirely certain," said Steven, "but it seems she's having some… issues with your new relationship."

"Issues?" said Peridot. "You would think that she wouldn't mind two Gems from different castes getting together. I mean, that's what Garnet is."

"I don't think the caste difference is the problem," said Steven. "It's… more personal."

"If you ask me," said Amethyst, "I'd say she needs—"

"Help!" yelled Pearl from outside. Amethyst, Peridot, and Steven rushed out to see what the matter was.

They found her pointing upwards to something on the roof. "I accidentally tossed an ancient gem artifact up there and now I can't get it down!"

"Wait, how did you manage to do that?" Peridot asked.

"That's not important! What's important is that Amethyst and I need to form Opal to get it down!"

"Opal?" said Amethyst. "Why?"

"Only the extended height of a fusion can help us here, and well, you and Peridot haven't even fused yet, whereas _we_ have fused many, many times…"

"Hey, don't worry about any of that," said Steven. He leapt up onto the roof and retrieved the object. "See? I can just get it with my floating powers!"

"Right," said Pearl, disappointedly. "Er, thank you, Steven." She grabbed the artifact and rushed back inside. Through the screen door, they saw her retreat into the temple.

"Man," said Amethyst. "She's really losing it."

"I'm going after her," said a concerned Steven.

He opened the door to his mother's room and proceeded from there to Pearl's. There, Pearl was sitting to one side of the watery disc, sobbing softly.

"Pearl?" Steven said, approaching cautiously. "What's the matter?"

Pearl's head perked up at the sound of his voice but she did not turn to face him. "Nothing."

Steven frowned. "We both know that's not true," he said. "If you don't feel like talking about it, that's fine, but you can't just pretend that—"

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Pearl cried. "We knew each other for hundreds of years, and were just beginning to get along, and it was starting to look like it might bloom into something more, but then _she_ comes along and steals her away, just like Greg stole Rose! I just want someone to have that special connection with! Amethyst has Peridot, you have Connie, Garnet has herself, but me? Just some stupid, mistressless Pearl, forever doomed to be alone because I can't take the initiative to actually take the next step with someone before it's too late!"

She wiped away some tears. "I know, I'm being selfish." She was startled a bit by Steven embracing her from behind.

"It's not selfish to want to be happy," he said.

Pearl returned the hug, and they held it for a long time.


	3. In Which Amethyst and Peridot May or May Not Fuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst's raring to do it; Peridot's reluctant. Which one will acquiesce?

Amethyst and Peridot had been a couple for a few weeks now and showed no signs of drifting apart. They were having so much fun just being around each other that they didn’t even care that Steven had now joined Lapis on the sidelines during their basketball games, leaving them to score point after point with no opposition.

“Yes!” Amethyst shouted. “Twenty-five points in record time!” She and Peridot high-fived.

“Congratulations!” Steven said good-naturedly.

“Well, this was fun,” Lapis said, extending her wings, “but I’m going to go watch grass grow.”

“She may sound like she’s being sarcastic,” Steven said to the others as she flew away, “but she actually means it.”

“She thought this was fun?” Peridot asked.

“No, she’s going to watch grass grow. She finds it relaxing.”

“Something tells me she doesn’t really enjoy spending time with us,” said Peridot.

“Course, _you_ don’t have the same problem, do you, P?” Amethyst said teasingly.

“Perish the thought!” said Peridot. “I love these games against Steven. And I’ve loved going on those things you call ‘dates’. Tennis, movies, mini-golf, karaoke… We’ve done it all!”

“Yeah,” Amethyst said, chuckling. “Of course, there’s one thing we haven’t done yet…”

“And what would that be?”

“Fuse, of course!”

“Ooh, yeah!” said Steven. “I wanna see who you two turn into!”

“Er, I’m not sure about that…” said Peridot.

“Hey, come on, Peri! You’ve been around Garnet long enough; you know it’s perfectly safe! And I’ve already fused with her and Pearl and even Rose a few times back in the day, and I wasn’t _nearly_ as close to any of them as we are!”

“But it’d be my first time.”

“Well, duh! There was a first time for _all_ of us to fuse! And after the first time, it won’t be your first time anymore! So you might as well do it right now, right?”

Peridot shrunk. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t you want to fuse someday?”

“Of course… but not now.”

“Aww…” Steven said, disappointed.

Amethyst seemed disappointed as well. “So, when _will_ you want to fuse?”

“I don’t know,” said Peridot. “Just… not now.”

Amethyst pouted. “Fine.”

 

* * *

 

Amethyst asked again the very next day.

“Come on, P!” said Amethyst. “There’s no reason we _shouldn’t_ fuse!”

“But there’s no reason we _should_ fuse either!”

“Besides fusion being the ultimate expression of love and trust between two Gems, uniting them as one in both body and mind?”

“Well, uh… I guess when you put it like that…”

“So, don’t you love and trust me? At least as much as Pearl or Garnet does?”

“Well, you’ve known them for a much longer time!”

“So how long will _we_ have to know each other before we fuse?”

“I don’t know!” Peridot shouted.

“So, when _will_ you know?” Amethyst grumbled.

“I don’t know _that_ either! I just… it… gah!”

Peridot walked away in a fluster while Amethyst fumed.

“You’re pretty gung-ho about Peridot fusing with you, aren’t you?” Steven asked.

Amethyst jumped. “Gah! Steven! What are you doing here?”

Steven shrugged. “It was pretty hard to not eavesdrop on you, considering how loud you were. But seriously, you’re really going after her about this.”

Amethyst crossed her arms. “Well, yeah. I wanna fuse. But _she’s_ not willing to do it!”

“Maybe you’re coming on too strong?”

“Or maybe I’m not coming on strong _enough_.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it. Look, Amethyst; Peridot’s your girlfriend. She’s bound to let you fuse with her eventually.”

Amethyst frowned. “She’d better.”

 

* * *

 

A few days later, while Garnet was away on a solo mission, Peridot burst into the beach house. “Guess what?” she cried.

Pearl leapt to her feet and quickly summoned her spear. “Is some sort of Gem monstrosity attacking?”

“What? No,” said Peridot. “Why would you automatically assume it’s bad news?”

“So what happened?” Steven asked.

“Oh! Well, when Lapis was watching the grass grow, she spotted something in the dirt, and it was the mayor’s wallet, and so long story short, we’re all going to get mentioned in his next speech.”

“I don’t quite get it, but that sounds cool,” said Steven.

“Yeah, Peridot, it’s really great!” Amethyst exclaimed. “And to celebrate the occasion, we should fuse!”

“Seriously?” Peridot said. “What is your obsession with wanting us to fuse?”

“Well, what’s _your_ obsession with wanting us _not_ to fuse?”

“It’s not an obsession! _You’re_ the one who keeps bringing it up!”

“Well, I wouldn’t _have_ to keep bringing it up if you’d just _do_ it!”

“And I wouldn’t have to keep not doing it if you didn’t keep bringing it up!”

“You’re just being a big chicken!”

“I don’t know what that means!”

“It means you’re _scared_ to fuse!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Then why won’t you fuse with me?”

“Because I don’t want to!” With than, Peridot turned and stormed out of the beach house, slamming the door.

A scowling Amethyst plopped onto the couch. Soon however, her expression turned to one of regret. “Oh, man… that was harsh, wasn’t it?”

Steven nodded. “Most definitely.”

“Yeah, well… she’s being really stubborn. There’s absolutely no reason for us not to fuse!”

“Maybe, but you still can’t pressure her like that,” Pearl said. “You have to let her set her own pace. After all, while you were raised in an environment where fusion was perfectly natural, she was taught that it was indecent and shameful. You can’t expect her to abandon all her qualms about it right away.”

Amethyst sighed. “You’re right.” She got up. “I’ve got to go apologize!”

So she raced out of the house.

 

* * *

 

“And you haven’t brought up fusion once since?” Pearl asked.

Amethyst shook her head. “Nope! I haven’t asked her to do it, or hinted at it, or even mentioned it in other contexts!”

“Good for you!” said Steven.

It had been two weeks since Amethyst had apologized to Peridot, and it seemed that their relationship had healed nicely from their scuffle. They had played basketball, went on a few dates, and attended the mayor’s speech in which he namechecked all the Crystal Gems, and there seemed to be no lasting ill will from either party.

“I’m proud of you,” said Garnet. “You’re learning to respect boundaries and not force others to do things they’re not fully comfortable with, and that’s important in a relationship.”

“Course, I still _want_ to fuse with her.”

Garnet smiled. “That’s understandable.”

“Hey, Amethyst!” yelled a voice from outside. Amethyst, along with the other Crystal Gems, went out to see Peridot standing on the beach.

“Hey, Peri,” said Amethyst, hurrying down the steps. “What’s up?” she asked, looking around. “You got something to show me?”

“Huh? No… it’s just I wanted to be outside for this because I wasn’t sure how big we would become.”

“Wait, do you mean…”

“Yes,” said Peridot. “We’re going to fuse.”

Amethyst gave a tender smile. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“But I _do_ want to! I mean, I’m nervous, but I want to do it. And you know there’s no one I’d rather have for my first time than you.”

Amethyst’s smile turned into a full-fledged grin. “Then let’s do it!”

And so, as the others looked on, they began.

Amethyst reached out her hand and Peridot gingerly took it. Together, they twirled; they dipped; they waltzed along to an unheard song. And then their bodies, apart from their gems, transformed into two balls of light, and those two balls merged together, and in the blink of an eye, where its components had been, stood a new Gem.

She was not as tall as some of the other fusions Steven had seen—she was shorter than Opal, and Sardonyx, and Sugilite—but she was still taller than Garnet or any human. Her skin was light blue, and her cyan hair hung loosely to her shoulders. She now possessed had four arms, which she was currently examining with the four eyes on her head. She was not as thin as Opal was, nor as wide around in the bust and hip area as Sugilite, but measured somewhere between the two, and was clad in a pair of teal overalls.

“Wow!” cried Steven. “Amethyst! Peridot! Or, um… Amidot?”

The fusion shook her head. “No, no. You may call me… Larimar.”

 

* * *

 

Larimar played with Steven for about an hour, using the time to discover how her new body worked. They ran up and down the beach and into town, even testing out the makeshift basketball court set up at the car wash before concluding that her height made the game boringly trivial. Soon, however, it was clear that she was at risk of either become unstable and defusing involuntarily or else losing her component Gems’ individual personalities within herself; and so they returned to the temple, where Garnet was waiting.

“I’ll miss you,” Steven said to the giant blue woman.

“You know Peridot and Amethyst will still be here.”

“Yeah, but it’s not exactly the same thing, you know?”

Larimar smiled. “You’re right; we should do this again sometime.” And with that, she defused, leaving two Gems in her place.

Steven went and hugged them. “I missed you guys!” he said.

“We were in Larimar for only an hour,” said Amethyst. “And you just said how you’d miss _her_.”

“Well, yeah,” said Steven. “It’s a shame you can’t both exist at the same time. You’d get along nicely.”

Garnet approached Peridot. “So how was your first time fusing?” she asked.

“It… was fun,” Peridot said. “An incredibly unique, highly enjoyable experience. But I wouldn’t want to stay like that all the time. No offense.”

“I understand,” said Garnet, smiling. “It’s not for everybody.”

“No, it’s not,” Amethyst agreed. “But still, we should do it again sometime, just like she said. But only when you want to.”

Peridot smiled. “Only when we _both_ want to.”


End file.
